Zara It for Fashion Case Study

Zara has relied on Personal Digital Assistants (PDA’s) and Point of Sales (POS) terminal operating on Microsoft DOS which are not linked to the headquarters or other stores for its daily transactions. Although, the system has proved to be stable and reliable over time, it has become obsolete and cannot be supported by the providers.
I recommend that the company invest on a new system like Windows, UNIX or Linux operating system which will enhance connectivity and flexibility in operations and information flow.
Investing in a cutting edge technology though may be capital intensive initially; it will ultimately improve efficiencies across board and provide new learning opportunities for the entire workforce.

Introduction

Zara is a division of the Inditex group, a multinational clothing retailer and manufacturer with headquarters in La Coruna, Spain. Inditex operates in a `fast fashion` industry and in an environment where consumer demand was notoriously hard to forecast.
The first Zara store was opened in 1975 near the factory. Today, Zara has over 650 stores spread across 50 countries around the world located in luxury shopping districts that attracts well-heeled customers.
As part of an integrated group that includes, fabric, dye making and computer aided (CAD) cloth making factory, Zara contributes over 73.3% of the group’s sales in 2002 fiscal-year and the most profitable. Almost half of Inditex revenue is gotten in Spain while France is the largest international market.
Zara business model offers a rapid turnaround in design, production and delivery of new garments in 15 days in its stores worldwide compared with competitions like Benetton, H&M and Gap that typically spend months is planning. This is premised on short deadlines, low inventories in the stores and unique designs based on current fashion trend. All…...

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...Case: “Zara: IT for Fast Fashion”
Issue
Zara, the flagship chain of Spanish based holding company Inditex, has grown to great prominence in the international retail fashion industry. It has done so by advantage in recognizing and responding to changing fashion. Recognizing and quickly responding to the changes in fashion trends is largely achieved through a collaborative system of store managers and mid-management level commercials. The exponential growth of Zara has been upon the backbone of a reliable but increasingly antiquated IT system that begins to counterproductively threaten the speed by which the majority of the 32,535 employees operate. At the center of the technical issue is the Point of Sale (POS) system commonly used in each of Zara’s stores.
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It is an open issue frequently in the mind of Xan Salgado Badas, the head of IT for Inditex. The current POS system exists in each store as a non networked terminal operating upon the outdated Disk Operating System (DOS). Though incredibly stable and familiar to Zara’s employees, it proves to be increasingly lacking in functionality across the current and future needs of the expanding international chain (McAfee, Dessain, Sjoman, 2). The heart of the issue is not a debate over whether to upgrade the operating system and the POS application itself, but rather when and how to facilitate such a large modernization. Salgado’s advisor Bruno Sanchez Ocampo expresses, “We could mess it up in the......

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The close relationship between manufacturing and retailing make Zara different from the others specialty apparel retailers. His motto could be « fast and fashion ». Zara controls all phases of production of its clothing from design to distribution. A choice taken by the will of the company to « adapt to the client's request in minimum time.», for Zara, the most important thing is time.
Zara has a highly flexible tool for producing close to its customers and an efficient and quick chain information system. Zara designers are constantly listening to advice and comments from store managers. During their regular contact, the store managers give suggestions, advice and criticisms on products and on the choice that should be taken thanks to the retail experiences with customers. .It allows to Zara to be the first company to offer the new fashion garments, Zara create a sort of rareness. To control his production, Zara produces a lot in Spain with exclusive suppliers, it give to Zara a great reactivity and a good control.
Zara reduces also inventory risk and delays thanks to limited series. Zara is able to deliver all of its stores since their huge warehouse which centralized the production, it limits intermediaries, reduce stocks, and delays.
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...Zara: IT for Fast Fashion Case
Alternatives
|ISSUE |PRO |CON |ALTERNATIVE |
|POS System – Upgrading |1) Avoid future issue, such as|1) Cost lot of money and time |1) Purchase extra terminal to avoid |
| |software can not work with |to do the new system |software and hardware issue for now; |
| |hardware; | | |
| | |2) Takes time to find out if |2) Analyse/Test new IT system and |
| |2) New system can support more|the new IT system and operation|operation system at same time. |
| |function, such as check |system can work well as | |
| |inventory; |expected. | |
| | | | |
| |3) Place order more flexible; | | ...

...Zara Case Study - Answer the following questions using both the case in the text and online research. Citations (within the text) and a bibliography are required. Be sure to provide an overview of the case in a short paragraph prior to answering each question. List the question you are answering prior to your answer.
Vertical Supply Chain
Zara uses a vertical supply chain, which is an uncommon strategy in the fashion industry. A company that operates in a vertically integrated strategy has total control of the various business activities, such as designing, manufacturing, sourcing, and to distribution to retail stores. This gives the company total business management.
1. As completely as possible, explain the supply chain for Zara from raw materials to consumer purchase. (5 points)
Zara makes about 40% of their raw material (fabric) and produces more than half of its own clothes. (Kotler and Armstrong). The remaining 60% is outsourced from within Spain, mostly from the La Curuna. Designing of clothes at Zara is done by creative teams of over 300 professionals at the headquarters in La Curuna, Spain. (Supply Chain Brain).
After the designers complete a design they are sent to Zara’s production system to cut the fabric. The design is then sent for sewing by one of several hundred local cooperatives. After sewing, the clothes are returned to Zara’s facilities for ironing by an assembly line of workers. After this, the items are wrapped and transported on......

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Inditex is a fashion retailer which dates back to 1963 when it started life in a small workshop making woman’s clothing. Today it has more than 6.460 stores all over the world (Inditex, 2014). Officially it all started with the launch of the first Zara store in La coruña, north-west of Spain in 1975. At that time the textile maker Amancio Ortega decided to open his own store after years of work in the textile industry. This was followed by the brand’s internationalization at the end of the 1980s and the successive launch of several another retail concepts: Pull&Bear, Massimo Duti, Bershka, Stradivarius, Oysho, Zara Home and Uterqüe. Today, Inditex is considered to be the greatest fashion retail group, and its founder Amancio Ortega, the richest person in Spain. Zara is the flagship chain of the Inditex Group which generates nearly 65% of the net sales of the group (Inditex annual report 2013). It encompasses many different styles, from daily clothes, to more formal elegant clothes for women, men and children. This case study tackles the challenges of being the world’s fashion retailer, the sustainability of the competitive strategy, and the group’s internationalization process.
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Answer 1: Elements of the classical management approach are very evident at Zara International. The classical management approach contains three branches, which are scientific management, bureaucratic organization and administrative principles. Scientific management was expressed by selecting the workers with the right abilities for the job as well as time being the main factor instead of production costs and advertisements. For example Zara only spends 0.3% of sales on ads compared the competitors that spend roughly 3 to 4%. Next, administrative principles are displayed clearly through the control over design, distribution, production, and retail. In addition the clothing lines aren’t restocked and instead they become replaced by new designs to create a rarity value. Since shoppers will be unsure if the product will still be there next time they go back it will get shoppers to buy the item now. Lastly for the classical approach, bureaucratic organization exists through Zara’s clear division of labor and the organization runs smoothly because of it. However, Zara International also showed a few elements of the behavioral management approach. They focus...

...Introduction to Zara (Inditex) Case Study
In 1975, Amancio Ortega started a fashion retail shop that makes the fashionable clothes faster and beauty than other competitors. The first Zara store opened in 1975 in Spain. The very best quality of Zara was, it only takes two weeks to develop a new cloth/product and release it to the market while other competitors take two months. Zara didn’t get third party help to distribute, design or even produce because Zara did them alone.
Zara was fashion focused producers that makes new clothes, apparels according to the trending fashion. Zara uses its own strategic method which is done by sending some employees to higher level venues, occasions, functions, clubs etc.Then the collected new designs and patterns will be forwarded to the headquarters. Although Store managers are used to report feedback, new demands that is given by the customers. These methods will help Zara to be the top among their industrial competitors. Although this method will helps Zara to manufacture more products than others, like 30,000 products annually while others are doing 10,000.
Another unique quality of Zara is they don’t keep products that doesn’t sell for around 4 weeks and this trick make customers to come and see regularly on Zara stores that “What’s new?”
With the development process of Zara become more and more popular and powerful on its industrial market. Hence Zara decided to enter the market with various brands. They were categorized......

...1. Inditex/Zara history (Explain)
Amancio Ortega Gaono began Inditex as a way to bring high fashion apparel to the market at an affordable price. After years working in the apparel retail industry in la Coruña, Spain, Ortega left his job in the early 1960’s to being manufacturing trendy designers pieces in cheaper materials and selling these items to local shops. In 1975, Ortega opened his first retail store, Zara, drawn by its inexpensive, fashionable merchandise, and Ortega expanded the Zara chain quickly.
1980’s Ortega joined with computer expert Jose Maria Castellano to design a highly responsive supply chin that could quickly produce the latest fashions. A team of designers would replicate popular items, nearby factories would produce them, and they would be shipped from a central warehouse to stores.
In 1985’s, Ortega restructure the company and named it Industria de Diseño Textil S.A., o Inditex. In 1990’s, Inditex expanded internationally and diversified its brand portfolio. Zara had added childrenswear, and four new brands had been added to the portfolio; Pull & Bear, Massimo Dutti, Bershka and Stradivarius.
2. How important is Zara for Inditex group internationalization process? Explain and make comments
Mainly, Zara is the first brand that Inditex had, it have been successfully accepted into the market in different countries and provide a huge opportunities to Inditex to grow up continuously.
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...ZARA: FAST FASHION
When Amancio Ortega, a former Spanish bathrobe maker, opened his first Zara clothing store, his business model was simple: sell high-fashion look-alikes to price-conscious Europeans. After succeeding in this, he decided to tackle the outdated clothing industry in which it took six months from a garment’s design to consumers being able to purchase it in a store. What Ortega envisioned was “fast fashion”—getting designs to customers quickly. And that’s exactly what Zara has done!
The company has been described as having more style than Gap, faster growth than Target, and logistical expertise rivaling Wal-Mart. Zara, which is owned by the Spanish fashion retail group Inditex SA, recognizes that success in the fashion world is based on a simple rule—get products to market quickly. Accomplishing this, however, isn’t so simple. It involves a clear and focused understanding of fashion, technology, and their market, and the ability to adapt quickly to trends.
Inditex, the world’s largest fashion retailer y sales worldwide, has seven chains: Zara (including Zara Kids and Zara Home), Pull and Bear, Massimo Dutti, Stradivarius, Bershka, OYsho, and Uterque. The company has over 5, 618 stores in 84 countries, although Zara pulls in over 60 percent of the company’s revenues. Despite its global presence, Zara is not yet a household name in the United States, with just over 50 stores open, including a flagship store in New York City.
What is Zara’s secret to...

... Case study Zara
1. 1.  ZARA is a Spanish clothing and accessories retailer based in Arteixo, Galicia.  Founded in 24 May ,1975 by Amancio Ortega and Rosalía Mera.  Zara needs just two weeks to develop a new product and get it to stores, compared to the six-month industry average, and launches around 10,000 new designs each year.  Zara was described by Louis Vuitton Fashion Director Daniel Piette as "possibly the most innovative and devastating retailer in the world.  1763 stores , 78 countries worldwide.  Zara has continually maintain its mission to provide fast and affordable fashionable items .  Inditex (Industria de Diseño Textil) of Spain, the owner of Zara and five other apparel retailing chains, continued a trajectory of rapid, profitable growth by posting net income of €€ 340 million on revenues of €€ 3,250 million in its fiscal year 2001.  Zara welcomes shoppers in 86 countries to its network of 1.763 stores in upscale locations in the world's largest cities.  Zara's approach to design is closely linked to their customers.
2. 2. Around the world Zara 1.763 Zara Kids 171 Pull & Bear 817 Massimo Dutti 630 Bershka 899 Stradivarius 794 Oysho 529 Zara Home 364 Uterqüe 91 TOTAL 6.058 Inditex is a global specialty retailer that designs, manufactures, and sells apparel, footwear, and accessories for women, men and children through its chains around the world. Zara is the largest and most internationalized of the six retailers that Inditex owns. By the......

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[pic]
Indian Institute of Management, Lucknow
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Zara Case Study
Q. 1. Zara is successful in managing IT. Using your learning’s from the case, explain how Zara is able to get productivity benefits from IT
The firm tripled in size between 1996 and 2000, then skyrocketed from $2.43 billion in 2001 to $13.6 billion in 2007. By August 2008, sales edged ahead of Gap, making Inditex the world’s largest fashion retailer1. While the firm supports eight brands, Zara is unquestionably the firm’s crown jewel and growth engine, accounting for roughly two-thirds of sales2.The blend of technology-enabled strategy that Zara has unleashed seems to break all of the rules in the fashion industry.
a) Efficiency in Design teams
Rather than create trends by pushing new lines via catwalk fashion shows, Zara prefers to follow with designs where there’s evidence of customer demand. Data on what sells and what customers want to see goes directly to “The Cube” in La Coruña, where teams of some 300 designers crank out an astonishing 30,000 items a year.
b) Speed of execution in bringing a new product idea to store & response to change
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...Zara Case Study
1. Case Summary
The Zara case study is a case of the fundamental of whether or not to upgrade an IT system which already works, in this case a POS operating system that uses DOS, to more modern operating systems that includes more functionality to meet new demands.
Zara is a chain fashion store around Europe, Middle East, Africa, and South America that was founded by Amancio Ortega, in 1975. The first store and main headquarters was found in La Cournia, Spain. Mr. Ortega believed and implemented his business model that: Retailing and manufacturing needed to be closely linked. This created the backbone for Zara’s everyday functionality to have all the stores communicate with the main distributors and distribution centers (DCs) which in turn communicated directly to the manufactures. As a result, supply was meet with demand with ease and little latency.
This was all made possible through the use of technology and Zara’s IT department. Salgado Badas, the head of the IT, along with Bruno Sanchez Ocampo, were the main decision makers and brains behind the IT of Zara. For the past decade, Zara has implemented POS systems in each store that would have a direct connection via modem to the main headquarters in La Coruna. Managers on a daily basis transmit comprehensive sales information and other data back to La Coruna. In 2003, PDA’s were also used for ordering and also for tasks such as handling garment returns to DCs and......